Rupee widens losses, down 27 paise to 67.38

The dollar was firm against some global currencies which also weighed on the rupee

Continuing weakness for the second straight day, the rupee on Tuesday fell by another 27 paise to close at 67.38 per dollar on sustained demand for the American currency from banks and importers.

Sharp fall in domestic equity market also affected the rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said.

The domestic unit opened lower at 67.23 against Monday's closing level of 67.11 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and dropped further to 67.4175 before ending at 67.38, showing a loss of 27 paise or 0.40 per cent.

It has lost 33 paise or 0.49 per cent in two days.

It hovered in a range of 67.1725 and 67.4175 during the day.

The dollar index was up 0.19 per cent against a basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.

The dollar was lower against the yen in late Asian trade, following the Bank of Japan's widely expected decision to stand pat after its two-day policy meeting.

The BOJ left its monetary policy unchanged on Tuesday even as it slightly downgraded its view of the economy.

The BOJ will keep the rate on some commercial banks' reserves at minus 0.1 pct, its nine-member policy board said.

The board also voted 8-1 to leave the central bank’s asset-purchase programme, previously its primary policy tool, unchanged at Y80 trillion ($705 billion) a year.